The commercial airline industry has enjoyed enormous growth since its inception in the early 1940's. Advances in technology have allowed a large percentage of the population domestically to be able to travel by air. This, however, has led to over-crowding in airplanes, and as a result has led airlines to decreasing the area between each seat, leaving minimal legroom for their passengers.
Further, all airline seats and uniform and vertically non-adjustable. As such, shorter passengers and children have difficult in that their feet hang off the chair, which is ergonomically damaging and can cause loss of circulation in legs and feet, tired and sore feet, and deep vein thrombois. The ability rest ones feet on a surface has been shown to mitigate risk of these injuries.
Attempts have been made to provide a footrest for airplanes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,322,655 describes a footrest comprising a sling having two ends and a strap connected to each end of the sling. A user in a seat rests a foot in the sling where the straps of the sling are attached around an object in front of the seat. The ends of the straps 120, 130 may be connected by tying the straps 120, 130 together.
Another footrest is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,832,741, in which a foot pad with longitudinally aligned strap members extend from opposite ends. Attached to the distal ends of the two strap members are clips that selectively attach the strap member to the framework or underside surface of seat or to a portable stand that may be included with the system.
More recent commercial airlines policies and pricing schemes has led passenger to check fewer bags at the check-in counter, and carrying on more bags into the cabin. Many times, leg room provided under the seat in front of a passenger is filled by the carry-on luggage, only decreasing the legroom for the passenger even farther. The footrests described above do not account for the decrease in legroom, and are not easily collapsible and attachable.
As such, there is a need for an adjustable in two axes, collapsible, easy to use footrest for an airplane seat that will fit in increasingly small spaces.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.